Women Protest Islamic Law
Police Sunday used sticks to break up a march by women protesting a decree that made Islam the supreme law of Pakistan, a witness said.
The witness said that in the eastern city of Lahore, police confronted about 150 women demonstrating against the law, which President Zia ul-Haq put into effect June 15.
The witness, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police lashed out with batons.
The women said they feared the measure would negate Muslim laws introduced in 1961, which acknowledge a woman’s right to divorce as well as to demand the registration of marriages and divorces.
The decree makes Islam “the supreme law of Pakistan,” but it will not affect the rights of non-Muslims or the country’s business contracts with other nations, Zia said.
Witnesses said the protesters, who later held a sit-in, also condemned the United States for supporting “the dictator of Pakistan.” Police arrested six of the protesters.
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